Contends that teen courts offer powerful lessons in civic responsibility and that more than 150 are operating nationwide. Discusses establishment and educational strategies used in teen courts. Concludes that this law-related education program provides a creative solution to the delinquency dilemma. (CFR)

Studied adolescent participants in a group intervention program to determine the influence of peer reactions to problem behavior. Found that the impact of friendship is not always positive and can lead to unintended iatrogenic consequences. Concludes that adults' role in attending to children's peer contexts is perhaps the most critical for…

This paper examines how the new social contexts experienced by young people after leaving school are related to everyday food practices and eating habits. Findings from in-depth interviews with 31 young people aged 16-24 years studying at a college of further education in South East England are used to explore the role of new social spaces and…

For this qualitative inquiry, 40 South Asian students in a predominantly White Canadian university participated in interviews to investigate how racism is prevalent among peers in the university environment. Differential treatment is evident in the everyday interactions between minority and mainstream students, negatively affecting the overall…

Why are students who have special educational needs at greater risk of bullying than their peers when educated in mainstream settings? This case study of one mainstream secondary school describes the various facets of the peer group dynamics that underpinned social aggression and exclusion towards students who were hearing impaired. These students…

The last five years have seen an increase in the recognition among scholars, school administrators, and parents that bullying among American students occurs at great frequency. One survey of over 15,000 youth found that 30% reported frequent involvement in bullying. This article provides an introduction to the topic of school-based bullying. It…

This study tested the predictive links between children's interactions with peers in early elementary school and their social and emotional adjustment at the end of elementary school. A sample of 231 boys starting kindergarten and first grade were observed during this longitudinal study, on three separate occasions: kindergarten and first grade,…

For this practicum, a program of multimedia peer dramatic presentations was developed to improve the vocabulary skills of middle school students. Each week for 10 weeks a target group of 18 randomly selected students viewed 5 short video skits (produced by broadcast arts students) which were designed to introduce and define new vocabulary terms;…

Drawing upon Piagetian and Vygotskian developmental theories, philosophical examinations of the nature of argument and explanation, analyses of classroom and Socratic dialogues, and cooperative classroom structures, this paper examines how cooperative learning can influence individual knowledge acquisition. The paper first reviews some of the…

The Potential Reentry Opportunities in Business and Education (PROBE) counseling and referral system is intended to help single parents and displaced homemakers gain greater control over their own lives, careers, and futures. PROBE began in 1975 as a campus-based program at Pennsylvania State University and became community based in 1977. PROBE,…

This paper discusses findings of ecological studies of classroom learning drawn from the fields of anthropology, sociology, and ecological psychology. The aim of the studies is to illustrate the processes of teaching and learning rather than to establish generalizable rules for instruction by challenging the methodology and findings of traditional…

This report was prepared as part of the School Organization Program, a program focusing on authority-control structures, task structures, reward systems, and peer group processes in schools. It contains five papers delivered at an American Education Research Association Symposium. The papers examine current research on the effects of school…

"This study was designed to assess the behavioral characteristics, goals, and attitudes of adolescent high school students attending the school in Western County, Pennsylvania, in the region designated as Appalachia. The two towns were chosen because of the apparent differences in socioeconomic level, social activities, and occupations of…

The general objective of this study was to determine the nature and extent of reference group pressures on an individual's decision to drop out of school. A major hypothesis was that the impact of reference groups on this decision will be a function of the extent to which an individual identifies with that group. Consequently a major effort was…

The feasiblity of an observational rating scale which would provide objective, reliable and quantifiable measures of social and affective behavior was investigated. The Observation of Socialization Behavior (OSB), focusing on peer-group behavior of pre-school children and designed for use in unstructured situations was developed. Two forms of the…